yellow-rumped warbler

Literally ;)

My first YRW of 2011, taken while working with the Scrub Jays.

You have heard of a "chip off the ol' block?" That happens when the bird flies away.

Shooting in all manual mode. Metering becumes more important. Depending on the light, it is best to expose "to the right" on a "luminosity" histogram. All DSLR have the choice between histograms of color and luminosity. Calibrate the camera by shooting a neutral lit area or...

Taken today. There is a very strong likely-hood there will be snow today. The birds seem to sense it, they are packing away large volumes of food; the Yellow-rumped warbler is specializing on the suet: quick energy. Going all manual on the next series of images. Fill flash will also be manual...

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Yellow-Rumped Warbler visiting the feeders.

Just another...

As a migratory species, this bird my have come from as far North as No. Canada; as I think this is D. auduboni: complete eye-ring and a pale yellow supraloral spot. It has taken up residency for the duration because it has found a reliable supply of food at the suet feeder. Has been here for 3...

This man-made park attracts a variety of birds. Warblers abound; this one did a little hop to reposition itself on the fence.

14x17 inches. Watercolor on Strathmore Bristol paper. Based on photos and field sketches of Yellow-rumped Warblers seen around Cape May, NJ in November, 2010.

Just another in the series...

This might be an intergrade bird; cross between Audubon's and Myrtles: throat is more pale, with a slight suffusion of yellow (still might be female Audubon); however the lores and auricular area seem to be a bit darker than Audubon, suggesting Myrtle + Audubon cross.

Another in the series...

These little fellows are much more agressive than what their appearance would suggest. They stake out a source of food in the yard and then forbid any other species from partaking of that source. They are none too kind to there own kindred, come to think of it.

This individual had discovered the suet feeders and descided that it was worth most of it's expended energy at obtaining nutrients. Good choice as suet has the most useable calories per unit of effort, especially during these cold, long winter nights.

Finally some trees are changing and this butter-butt posed in front of them ;)

A cold front, with accompanying storm, settled in over night. Consequently the temperature dropped. This, in turn, placed an urgent need for the little birds to come down from the higher elevations. So today what do I find in the yard: yellow-rumped warblers: first of the season.

Finished writing a paper this morning, then took a longish lunch break on campus. Saw the same mix of species I've been seeing lately - American robins, yellow-rumped and Townsend's warblers, and a brown creeper. No kinglets, though. The robins were eating toyon berries, also called Christmas...

Freeze warning up for tonight so I guess my garden will be shot tomorrow. Oh well, get to start all over again next spring ;) Meanwhile the cold might bring in some more migrants.

But even in the back lit shot, I sort of liked it. Maybe it was the angle of the Warbler's head.

With a trail of ants invading my office, I decided not to eat lunch at the desk, no matter how clean I keep it. Instead I plunked down on the lawn outside the alumni building where I'd seen some Oregon juncoes (but not got a good picture because it's so dark under the redwoods there). I set the...